Shanta Rate Misra

“Shanta Rate Misra, was born and brought up at Singapore, Shanta has lived in various cities in the world and is currently based in Mumbai. She is an exponent of Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam and Kathakali. She has had the opportunity of being trained under some of the most eminent gurus of classical Indian dance like Sri Oyur Govinda Pillai, Srimati Kalanidhi Narayan, Padmabhushan Raja and Radha Reddy, Padmabhushan Guru Vempati Chinna Satyam.

She has been trained in Kuchipudi Under Padmabushan Shri Raja Radha Reddy, Under Padmabushan Guru, and Dr Vempati Chinna Satyam. Bharatanatyam under Padma Bhushan Kalanidhi Narayan, Padmashree Shri Adyar Lakshman, Shrimati Neila Sathyalingam, and Shri and Shrimati KP Bhaskar and Under Shri Oyoor Govinda Pillai, she had training in Kathakali.

Major Performances – Abroad

• Performed in Adelaide Festival of Arts, Australia.
• Performed in Moscow, Kharkhov and Kursk, Russia.
• Performed and gave lecture-demonstration in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang, Malaysia.
• Performed in Singapore.
• Singapore Festival of Arts and all major cultural shows on stage and television and also represented Singapore on Cultural Exchange Programs.
• Choreographed many television and stage shows for charitable causes, and promoting Indian Classical Dance in Singapore.
• Conducted master-classes and workshops with professional dance and theatre companies in AZERBEIJAN.
• Performed in USA, in St Louis, New York
• “New Directions in Kuchipudi”- performed for Sutra Theatre in conjuction with World Dance Alliance in Kaulalampur, Malaysia

Major performances - India

• Khajuraho Festival of Dance, Madhya Pradesh
• Elephanta Dance Festival, Mumbai
• Sangeet Nitya Samaroh organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi
• Nrityotsav the Sangeet Natak Akademy, New Delhi
• Sahitya Kala Parishad in Delhi at the Sangeet Natak Akademy’s “Nrityotsav” in Bangalore
• Sahitya Kala Parishad, New Delhi
• Kuchipudi Festival, Mumbai
• National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai.
• National Gallery for Modern Arts, Mumbai
• Habitat Centre, New Delhi
• Udaipur City Palace, Rajasthan.
• “Vastu Kaushal” organized by the Surabhi Foundation, New Delhi
• Dance and Music Festival, Chennai
• Dance Festival organized by Indian Trade Promotion Organization, New Delhi
• Dance and Music Festival, Chennai
• “Nayikas in Indian Classical Dance” for Coho Art Walk and Friends on the Museum, Mumbai
• Akashvani Award Ceremony Celebrations, Mumbai
• Lec-dem series in schools and colleges on the principle of dance
• Conceputualized, choreographed andperformed “Infinitely Achyuta”, a programme based on Bhagavad Gita

Innovations and Experiments:

• Performed in Babylon Festival of Arts, Baghdad, IRAQ. She was the only solo performer among 40 participating countries. The highlight of her recital was a special piece she choreographed called “ Confluence” to oud music, specially composed for her by the world reknown musicologist and performer Munir Bashir

• Conceptualized, choreographed, scripted and directed a dance and theatre production – ‘Writings on the Wall’ – using Chinese and Indian calligraphy and dance techniques blended with modern dance, premiered with a Singapore dance company in Singapore in January 1999.In this production she had developed the Devnagiri script into pictorial form and juxtaposed it with Chinese calligraphy in an ode to nature.

• Participated in “Ashta Nayika” project with Nehru Centre, encompassing all the seven classical dance styles of India on July 1999.

• Commissioned by NASSCOM to do a show “where technology meets tradition” Shanta used the simple tools of classical dance- mudras, rhythm, Sanskrit shloka special written for the item called “Connect”. The mood of the presentation was carried over to a ikebana floral arrangement that served as prop and as a metaphor.

• Reviving the dance drama tradition of Kuchipudi – “Bhama Kalapam” with spoken dialogue and sutradhar or story-teller for ‘Swaralaya’ in Kerala.

• Commissioned by Times of India (360 degrees) to do opening act for Filmfare South 2002. using Chenda-melam and Kalaripayattu of Kerala and using Indian classical and jazz dance vocabulary to blend the traditional with the contemporary. “Rhythms in Motion” the juxtaposing of different textures of movement to weave new patterns and designs using 25 artistes.

• Commissioned to do “Designs in Dance” by Surabhi Foundation, drawing the parallelism between architecture, sculpture, painting and dance. – Nov 2002, New Delhi.

• Commissioned to jointly choreograph and perform in four classical dance styles the immortal poem “Madhushala”, written by the late Shri Raghuvanshrai Bachchan for the Akashwani Award Ceremony.

• Presented paper on “Sanskrit text in performing Arts of India – Shastra & Sampradaaya” at International Sanskrit Conference in Bangkok, Thailand in celebration of the Golden Jubilee Birth Anniversary of HRH Princess Maha Chatri Sirindhoru on 25th June, 2005

• Interpreting contemporary poetry through Indian Classical dance for Coho Art Walk at NGMA, Mumbai in April, 2005.

• Presented “Nayikas in Indian Classical Dance” for Coho Art Walk and Friends of The Museum at NGMA, Mumbai.

Awards:

• Awarded the Gold Medallion in 1990 in for her contribution towards Indian Culture and achievements in the field of dance.

• Felicitated for her experimental work in Arts by Trans-Asian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2000 – towards contemporising the performing arts for the modern audiences in the attempt to increase the audience base.

• Awarded the “ Kala Shiromani” for her contribution to promote Indian Art and Culture by Sahyog Foundation in August 2002.

As a Film-maker:

TV

Researched, scripted and produced for TV
• “Hamsanaama” series in Indian Miniature Painting
• Photography - works of Raghubir Singh
• “Asian immigrants problems” – in the tristate area of New York.
• “Asian childrens’ Outreach Program”
• “Malavika Sarukkai and her art”

FILM

Researched, scripted, produced and directed “And Miles to Flow” - a documentary film in 35 mm which was selected for the International Documentary Festival in 1998.

The film is a celebration of the kinship in spirit in the Asian Dance Theatre forms like Kathakali of India, Noh and Kabuki of Japan and Chinese Opera. The master-disciple relationship: one of the deepest human relationships, combining complete freedom with total surrender. The “Yugen” or flowering of an artiste takes place in the soil and light of this relationship. Its depiction is an important preoccupation of the film.